NEWARK, N.J. -- A
convicted sex offender who was named pastor of a city church
several weeks ago has been removed from the post.

Shiloh Baptist Church leaders had hired the Rev.
Chavalis T. Williams in mid-March, even though they knew he
had pleaded guilty in Florida to charges of child abuse and
using children in a sexual performance.

The decision
to hire Williams was sharply criticized at the time by several
members of the congregation, and he was removed Thursday
following a vote by church officials. Congregation members
learned of the decision on Monday from John Sabb, chairman of
the church's Board of Deacons, but Sabb would not comment on
the vote.

Williams, who still lives in Florida, was
not immediately available for comment. He was sentenced to six
months in jail and 30 months probation after he admitted in
1999 that he had arranged for two teenagers to have sex in
front of him and others while he worked at a facility for
troubled youths in Jacksonville.

At the time of his
arrest, Williams was on probation after pleading guilty to a
wife beating charge.

Williams' ouster was confirmed
Tuesday by Joseph Delmar, a spokesman for the state Division
of Youth and Family Services. The agency was involved because
Williams, as pastor, was a board member of Shiloh Rainbow
Academy, the church's day care center.

Delmar said
DYFS had warned the academy that Williams could not be allowed
on the day care's premises.

"We have been informed by
Shiloh that the Rev. Williams is no longer employed by the
church," Delmar told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Wednesday's
editions. "Our concerns for the safety of the children have
been met."

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